Me- mid-30s single female client... Him- 50s smart sexy architect for my residential project... How normal is it to have a major crush on your architect? If the interest is mutual are there any professional rules against flirting.. or whatever? And how does one draw a clean line between billable hours and recreational activities that don't relate to the work? I could listen to him talk about our shared hobbies all day, but I don't think I can afford to pay for the pleasure :)
archanonymous
Jan 12, 20 4:17 pm
I'd say it's pretty common, here's a few (in)famous examples:
If you are really tryin to make something happen - 1. check if he is single or not and 2. wait until your project is done - or fire him and hire someone else!
Koww
Jan 12, 20 9:38 pm
don't get why women like old dudes
SneakyPete
Jan 13, 20 11:58 am
If you're male, just wait a while.
Non Sequitur
Jan 13, 20 12:30 pm
As long as his T-Square still works well... AMIRIGHT ladies?
Almosthip7
Jan 14, 20 12:14 pm
Does he do erection drawings?
Almosthip7
Jan 14, 20 12:16 pm
I have a good detail for shaving the nuts
leonizer
Jan 13, 20 8:57 am
pics or it didn't happen
Luca1
Jan 13, 20 11:51 am
hahaha
midlander
Jan 13, 20 1:29 pm
this made my day. i hope it's some kind of trick on us.
Flatfish
Jan 13, 20 3:05 pm
The name of the book and architect escape me, but there's a fairly contemporary biography/memoir of a residential architect with a chapter devoted to this phenomena (cliche?) He tells a story about a female client sending him a whip, a stool, and a top hat, so he can play "lion tamer".
SpontaneousCombustion
Jan 14, 20 12:34 pm
That book is "Confessions of a Country Architect" by Don Metz.
OneLostArchitect
Jan 13, 20 7:19 pm
sounds erotic
tduds
Jan 13, 20 7:34 pm
Totally normal. Every client I have falls in love with me. It's one of the more annoying parts of the job, having to swat away unprofessional advances day in and day out, from women & men alike.
whistler
Jan 13, 20 7:47 pm
I worked in a fairly male dominated office as an intern and one of the principles ( mid 40's ) was divorced, regularly on the prowl and often had to sleep under his drawing table to recover from his last nights excapades. He often referred to the "ultimate sacrifice" he made when he had to sleep with woman that could be potential clients. It was a different era but he did keep the office entertained with his stories.
atelier nobody
Jan 13, 20 8:09 pm
Women of a certain age range grew up believing Mike Brady was the perfect husband and, knowing little to nothing else about us, assume we're all like him. Many dreams have been crushed when they found out the truth.
SpontaneousCombustion
Jan 14, 20 12:38 pm
That show was cancelled in the early seventies so women of that "certain age" would mostly be >50. The OP, in her 30s, is more likely to have been influenced by Ted Moseby than Mike Brady.
atelier nobody
Jan 14, 20 12:45 pm
True. This comment wasn't specifically about the OP.
SpontaneousCombustion
Jan 14, 20 2:14 pm
Sure, but it was hopelessly dated even by the late 70s. Non-architects younger than Boomers would have more recent sources on which to base their stereotypes. I'm in my 50s and think more to Indecent Proposal and thirtysomething for the pop-culture architect stereotypes of even my generation.
SpontaneousCombustion
Jan 14, 20 2:47 pm
Balkins the "factual fact" is that the show has been on continuously, right up to this day. The issue isn't whether someone has ever seen it, it's whether it would be meaningful in forming expectations about architects. Anybody viewing that show beyond the mid 70s woukd be doing so ironically, or for nostalgia. Architects in more recent decades have usually been portrayed less steady family-oriented types than MikeBrady, and more as financially desperate and morally bankrupt (Indecent Proposal, Intersection) or as tempestuously and impulsively creative or romantic (Ted Mosby, Charlie Banks).
0110
Jan 13, 20 11:59 pm
Thanks to everyone for the feedback. Aside from avoiding actual romantic involvement, what are the norms for architect-client interaction? The personal disclosure necessitated by the design process is surprisingly intimate; I am not sure whether to read affectionate reciprocation as an indication of interest or as a professional effort to put me at ease and help the project along? If we share a leisurely dinner and drinks after a site visit would that be a perfectly normal business outing or would it imply openness to something else?
Wood Guy
Jan 14, 20 8:40 am
Wait until your project is done and then do whatever you want. If you act on your impulses now it will get messy.
It is relatively normal--my former boss once told me that part of his sales approach is to be either the husband or the father that our mostly-female clientele wished they had. He was good at it, too.
Non Sequitur
Jan 14, 20 1:17 pm
I believe we need full disclosure on these necessary personal disclosures of yours. Without them, how can we best address this issue?
b3tadine[sutures]
Jan 14, 20 4:12 pm
Both can be true.
OddArchitect
Jan 14, 20 1:20 pm
Don't screw your architect, pay the fee.
threeohdoor
Jan 14, 20 4:19 pm
I can't tell if this is a deadpan Norm MacDonald delivery (in which case, brilliant)
, or if some forests were missed during the tree visit.
tduds
Jan 14, 20 4:23 pm
Welp I'm reading Rick's posts in Norms voice now. Thank you for this stroke of genius.
OddArchitect
Jan 14, 20 5:28 pm
I assume it's all in a Norm's voice but several forests where still missed.
b3tadine[sutures]
Jan 14, 20 4:09 pm
I thought this was about me, but then I saw "residential architect".
OddArchitect
Jan 14, 20 5:28 pm
Try to use your power for good old man.
proto
Jan 14, 20 5:36 pm
first post for an account that was opened in Mar 2019?
bravo
Dokuser
Jan 31, 20 1:07 am
about 60% of us females in my class find my studio prof. very hot lol
Dokuser
Jan 31, 20 1:35 am
he’s also like 38 or something like that so uhhh
leonizer
Jan 31, 20 9:37 am
If you've read The Rationale Male by Rollo Tomasi. He says that a man's peak sexual market value (SMV) is 38.
joseffischer
Jan 31, 20 10:04 am
I'll let my wife know. She'll be happy there's still time left, but will expect unrealistic progress.
leonizer
Jan 31, 20 10:14 am
let her know her peak was 24.
tduds
Jan 31, 20 11:34 am
If you've read any other thing, you'd know that
SMV is a dumb concept.
Me- mid-30s single female client... Him- 50s smart sexy architect for my residential project... How normal is it to have a major crush on your architect? If the interest is mutual are there any professional rules against flirting.. or whatever? And how does one draw a clean line between billable hours and recreational activities that don't relate to the work? I could listen to him talk about our shared hobbies all day, but I don't think I can afford to pay for the pleasure :)
I'd say it's pretty common, here's a few (in)famous examples:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamah_Borthwick
https://www.archdaily.com/769632/sex-and-real-estate-reconsidered-what-was-the-true-story-behind-mies-van-der-rohes-farnsworth-house
If you are really tryin to make something happen - 1. check if he is single or not and 2. wait until your project is done - or fire him and hire someone else!
don't get why women like old dudes
If you're male, just wait a while.
As long as his T-Square still works well... AMIRIGHT ladies?
Does he do erection drawings?
I have a good detail for shaving the nuts
pics or it didn't happen
hahaha
this made my day. i hope it's some kind of trick on us.
The name of the book and architect escape me, but there's a fairly contemporary biography/memoir of a residential architect with a chapter devoted to this phenomena (cliche?) He tells a story about a female client sending him a whip, a stool, and a top hat, so he can play "lion tamer".
That book is "Confessions of a Country Architect" by Don Metz.
sounds erotic
Totally normal. Every client I have falls in love with me. It's one of the more annoying parts of the job, having to swat away unprofessional advances day in and day out, from women & men alike.
I worked in a fairly male dominated office as an intern and one of the principles ( mid 40's ) was divorced, regularly on the prowl and often had to sleep under his drawing table to recover from his last nights excapades. He often referred to the "ultimate sacrifice" he made when he had to sleep with woman that could be potential clients. It was a different era but he did keep the office entertained with his stories.
Women of a certain age range grew up believing Mike Brady was the perfect husband and, knowing little to nothing else about us, assume we're all like him. Many dreams have been crushed when they found out the truth.
That show was cancelled in the early seventies so women of that "certain age" would mostly be >50. The OP, in her 30s, is more likely to have been influenced by Ted Moseby than Mike Brady.
True. This comment wasn't specifically about the OP.
Sure, but it was hopelessly dated even by the late 70s. Non-architects younger than Boomers would have more recent sources on which to base their stereotypes. I'm in my 50s and think more to Indecent Proposal and thirtysomething for the pop-culture architect stereotypes of even my generation.
Balkins the "factual fact" is that the show has been on continuously, right up to this day. The issue isn't whether someone has ever seen it, it's whether it would be meaningful in forming expectations about architects. Anybody viewing that show beyond the mid 70s woukd be doing so ironically, or for nostalgia. Architects in more recent decades have usually been portrayed less steady family-oriented types than MikeBrady, and more as financially desperate and morally bankrupt (Indecent Proposal, Intersection) or as tempestuously and impulsively creative or romantic (Ted Mosby, Charlie Banks).
Thanks to everyone for the feedback. Aside from avoiding actual romantic involvement, what are the norms for architect-client interaction? The personal disclosure necessitated by the design process is surprisingly intimate; I am not sure whether to read affectionate reciprocation as an indication of interest or as a professional effort to put me at ease and help the project along? If we share a leisurely dinner and drinks after a site visit would that be a perfectly normal business outing or would it imply openness to something else?
Wait until your project is done and then do whatever you want. If you act on your impulses now it will get messy.
It is relatively normal--my former boss once told me that part of his sales approach is to be either the husband or the father that our mostly-female clientele wished they had. He was good at it, too.
I believe we need full disclosure on these necessary personal disclosures of yours. Without them, how can we best address this issue?
Both can be true.
Don't screw your architect, pay the fee.
I can't tell if this is a deadpan Norm MacDonald delivery (in which case, brilliant) , or if some forests were missed during the tree visit.
Welp I'm reading Rick's posts in Norms voice now. Thank you for this stroke of genius.
I assume it's all in a Norm's voice but several forests where still missed.
I thought this was about me, but then I saw "residential architect".
Try to use your power for good old man.
first post for an account that was opened in Mar 2019?
bravo
about 60% of us females in my class find my studio prof. very hot lol
he’s also like 38 or something like that so uhhh
If you've read The Rationale Male by Rollo Tomasi. He says that a man's peak sexual market value (SMV) is 38.
I'll let my wife know. She'll be happy there's still time left, but will expect unrealistic progress.
let her know her peak was 24.
If you've read any other thing, you'd know that SMV is a dumb concept.